This invention relates to an improvement in a chewing gum, and more particularly to a coldproof chewing gum suitable for chewing in a cold weather such as the winter season in a cold area and to a combination of the coldproof chewing gum with an ice cream.
In general, a chewing gum has a trend of hardening even in a mild winter season, and therefore when the chewing gum is chewed in the winter season it must be soften in a mouth to a certain degree before chewing or be chewed little by little from an edge thereof in order to facilitate softening. This hardening phenomenon has been encountered in the winter season in everywhere in the world and has usually reduced the demand for the chewing gum in the cold season. Thus, the chewing gum is generally desired which has little or no trend of hardening in the cold weather and is very soft in chewing.
For obtaining such type of chewing gum, one method is to prepare the chewing gum by use of soft materials only, excluding hard types of natural resins. This method, however, makes a texture of chewing gum extremely soft and could cause a softening and melting phenomenon. Further, the method has a disadvantage of not providing a desired elasticity for the chewing gum.
The inventors have discovered that the hardening phenomenon of the chewing gum in the cold environment has been caused mainly due to raw materials for the chewing gum and a compounding ratio of the same. Namely, they have found out as a result of determining the hardness of various chewing gum materials after having placed the same under the temperature of approximately -10.degree. C. for 24 hours, that a vinyl acetate resin, a natural resin and an ester gum have trends of extremely hardening while natural or synthetic rubbers (for example, polybutene, polyisobutylene, isobutylene-isoprene rubbers) does not substantially harden, and that fillers such as calcium carbonate, talc and the like, waxes and emulsifiers such as monoglycerides have little or no effect on hardening at the temperature between 36.degree. and -10.degree. C., as shown in FIG. 1.
Based on the foregoing knowledge, the inventors have further found out upon preparation of the chewing gum base that a decrease in an amount of natural resin, vinyl acetate resin and/or ester gum with an increase of natural and/or synthetic rubbers and with a substantial increase of emulsifier in the gum base makes the chewing gum soft in chewing and appropriately elastic even in the low temperature of -10.degree. C. The chewing gum obtained has softness in chewing and does not cause the softening and melting phenomenon while maintaining suitable elasticity after having been chewed for more than 5 minutes. Thus, the chewing gum may be referred to as "a coldproof chewing gum".
Since this coldproof chewing gum has a low temperature-resistant property as described hereinbefore, a combination thereof with an ice cream yields a novel frozen dessert. Since the coldproof chewing gum maintains its ample elasticity and does not harden even when the combination is placed in a freezing temperature of about -20.degree. to -30.degree. C. which is desired for keeping the ice cream frozen, a person who eats the frozen dessert can enjoy both the ice cream and the remaining chewing gum.